Managing costs, control of allergens and innovation are the top challenges facing today’s bakery industry according to the results of a survey of young bakery students undertaken by Dawn Foods at the recent Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) conference.
The ABST conference saw more than 250 young bakery students and trainees attend for a fun-filled weekend of education and networking. On the Dawn Foods stand, students were able to try a range of Dawn finished products as well as chat to the company’s team members about opportunities in bakery NPD and production.
Students studying on bakery courses at universities and colleges across the UK were surveyed. Dawn wanted to find out more about their thoughts on the main challenges facing today’s bakery industry as well as the flavour combinations they think are high profile in the sector at present.
Thirty percent of students surveyed said that cost was the largest challenge facing the bakery industry today. Interestingly allergens and managing dietary requirements which many termed as ‘food accessibility’ was the second most important. They also saw developing new concepts and keeping up with ever changing trends as an additional challenge, particularly for smaller bakeries in the face of competition in the retail space.
Staffing issues were mentioned frequently by students as well as the increasing challenges of waste management.
When it came to finding out about flavour trends, the vast array of flavour pairings currently available in the market was evident with 35 different flavour combinations identified! The classics are still top of the list though with Chocolate Orange cited as the number one flavour – in fact 31% of the flavours mentioned were chocolate combinations such as chocolate and chilli and chocolate and mint. Almost half of the flavours mentioned included a fruit combination too with the most popular flavours being raspberry, lemon and cherry in pairings such as white chocolate and raspberry, cherry and chocolate/Black Forest. Other interesting flavour combinations include lychee and raspberry, Earl Grey, Indian-influenced such as cardamom and saffron as well as pistachio and raspberry.
Students also took part in a fun ‘Spot the Difference’ Brownie taste test challenge where they had to identify the difference between a gluten free, vegan and standard Brownie made with Dawn’s ingredients. Almost 80% of the students could not tell the difference between the three types of products. According to Dawn this is good news for bakers as they can create great tasting, moist Brownies which appeal to all consumers, without having to buy in different ingredients to meet varying dietary requirements.
Jacqui Passmore, Marketing Lead West EU & AMEAP at Dawn Foods and the new President of the ABST commented:
“Dawn regularly garners the thoughts of young bakery students to keep up to date with the latest trends shaping the market. Students are influenced by social media – baking ideas they may see on TikTok for example, and this is evident in the unusual flavour combinations that they are excited by. The serious challenges facing the industry regarding costs, allergen management, staffing and so forth, shows us that they are also up to speed with reality too.”
Founded in 1925, ABST is free for students and bakery apprentices to join and offers them support throughout their education or training period. This support can include the chance to take part in bakery competitions to highlight their skills, assistance with access to ingredients and industry insight to help with studies or training.
For more information about Dawn Foods please visit dawnfoods.com/uk.